Translated material
The Investigative Committee opened a case against the former leadership of the All-Russian Athletics Federation
The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case against the former leaders of the All-Russian Athletics Federation (VFLA) in connection with a doping scandal.
The case was opened under the article “abuse of authority” (part 2 of article 201 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to the IC, as a result of the actions of the federation leadership, Russian athletes were suspended from international competitions, and their results were annulled.
The names of those involved in the investigation were not named in the Investigative Committee. The report refers to persons who “performed managerial functions in 2009-2013” in the ARAF.
ARAF President Dmitry Shlyakhtin (in office since January 2016) said that a month ago, the UK requested “certain information” from the federation, and it was provided. “We are talking about the charter, some orders, etc. This question was closed for us. Everything else is the actions of the Investigative Committee, ” TASS quotes Shlyakhtin.
[…] The case was initiated based on the results of a pre-investigation check of the information specified in the request for legal assistance dated 11/13/2015 of the Court of Grand Instance of Paris against officials of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). According to the content of the request, in the actions of the employees of the all-Russian public organization ARAF, violations were committed when athletes observed doping rules and admitted them to official competitions.
- From 1991 to February 2015, the All-Russian Athletics Federation was headed by Valentin Balakhnichev. He left the post due to the disqualification of several Russian athletes due to doping. At the end of 2014, he stepped down as Treasurer of the International Association of Athletics Associations (IAAF).
- In January 2016, the IAAF ethics commission suspended Balakhnichev and several other association officials from sports activities for life. They were found guilty of extorting bribes from Russian athletes in exchange for hiding information about their doping use.
- In the fall of 2015, ARAF was suspended from international competition after the publication of a report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which spoke of numerous anti-doping rule violations in Russia. Until the violations are eliminated, Russian athletes are recommended not to be allowed to participate in international competitions. Because of this, the Russians may miss the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro 2016.